Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 19, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke approves dozens of House and Senate bills

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke today signed dozens of House and Senate bills, including legislation to restrict illegal methamphetamine production, to protect personal privacy, to help breastfeeding mothers, to improve mass transportation and to increase commuter carpooling.

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill No. 5017
Relating to precursor drugs

Continuing his fight to stem the epidemic of meth use and manufacturing, the governor signed ESSB 5017, a measure he submitted to the Legislature in January.
"This will give law enforcement another valuable tool to help choke off sources of supply for meth labs," said Locke. "And it will do it without inconveniencing consumers who buy these common over-the-counter drugs."

The legislation, which takes effect on July 19, restricts the sale of ingredients used in the manufacture of illegal methamphetamine, including ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine.

The measure makes it a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to sell or buy at retail more than three packages of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine, or a single package containing more than three grams in a single transaction. The measure does not impact prescription purchases or sales.


House Bill No. 1002
Relating to the public inspection and copying of residential addresses or residential phone numbers of public employees or volunteers of public agencies

Sponsored by Rep. Laura Ruderman, D-Renton, HB 1002 protects the privacy of public employees by banning public agencies from publicly disclosing the home phone numbers and addresses of public employees. The ban applies to any public agency, not just the agency for which the employees work.

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5509
Relating to identification of students, staff and faculty at institutions of higher education

Sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, SSB 5509 improves privacy protections for higher education students and faculty by banning the use of Social Security numbers to identify students and faculty members.

Second Substitute House Bill No. 1590
Relating to breastfeeding

Sponsored by Rep. Eileen Cody, D-Seattle, HB1590 takes several steps to make life easier for breastfeeding mothers. The bill makes it clear that the act of breastfeeding or expressing breast milk is not indecent exposure. The bill also allows any employer to use the designation of "mother-friendly" on its promotional materials if they follow certain requirements including making it easier for working mothers to breast-feed their babies.

Substitute House Bill No. 1596
Relating to transportation of persons with special needs

Sponsored by Rep. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake, HB1596 improves mass transportation by providing local areas specific authority to establish special needs transportation services. The bill will help create better transportation services, especially for the elderly and disabled in rural Washington.

House Bill No. 1098
Relating to use of funds in the Commute Trip Reduction program

Sponsored by Rep. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma, HB1098 will help in the ongoing campaign to increase commuter carpooling. It will streamline operations of the Commute Trip Reduction program to free up more dollars for the program itself, rather than administrative overhead.
The governor also signed the following bills today.

House Bill No. 1028
Relating to military leave for public employees

House Bill No. 1067
Relating to the commissioning and training of railroad police

House Bill No. 1084
Relating to independent commissions to set salaries for city and town elected officials

House Bill No. 1116
Relating to clarifying tax exemptions for sale or use of orthotic devices

House Bill No. 1131
Relating to public hospital districts

Substitute House Bill No. 1136
Relating to product standards

House Bill No. 1160
Relating to real estate appraisers

House Bill No. 1173
Relating to fire district purchase

Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 1180
Relating to obtaining and expending funds for the public health system

House Bill No. 1205
Relating to licensing and regulation of consumer loan companies

House Bill No. 1216
Relating to investigating sudden unexplained deaths of children

House Bill No. 1366
Relating to credit unions

Substitute House Bill No. 1376
Relating to certain personnel in the Department of Veterans Affairs

Substitute House Bill No. 1426
Relating to the establishment of a quality improvement program for boarding homes

Second Substitute House Bill No. 1499
Relating to the regulation of marine fin fish aquaculture by the Department of Fish and Wildlife

House Bill No. 1542
Relating to exempting financial or proprietary information provided to the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development from public disclosure

House Bill No. 1727
Relating to the investment limits of insurers in noninsurance subsidiaries

House Bill No. 1729
Relating to licensing surplus line brokers

House Bill No. 1780
Relating to the fruit and vegetable district fund

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5014
Relating to harmonizing the definitions of sex and kidnapping offenders under the criminal and registration statutes

Senate Bill No. 5108
Relating to the growing of short-rotation hardwood trees on agricultural land

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5255
Relating to the public disclosure of specific and unique information related to criminal acts of terrorism

Senate Bill No. 5316
Relating to reasonable assurance of employment for employees of educational institutions

Senate Bill No. 5317
Relating to use of school hours and wages for unemployment compensation claims for educational employees

Senate Bill No. 5359
Relating to the health professions' use of pro tem board members

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5497
Relating to excluding farm and agricultural land from forest land under the forest practices act

Senate Bill No. 5518
Relating to the waiver of motorcycle endorsement examination after satisfactory completion of motorcycle operator training

Senate Bill No. 5531
Relating to limitations on fishery licenses

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill No. 5566
Relating to requiring uniform prescription drug information cards

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5572
Relating to permissible highway signs

Substitute Senate Bill No. 5733 Relating to county road construction projects

Senate Bill No. 5903
Relating to increasing the license surcharge for the impaired physician program

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill No. 5970
Relating to probation orders

Substitute Senate Bill No. 6020
Relating to access to dental care

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